🏝️BURIED TREASURE 🏝️

What’s up winos,

How’s the New Year treating you? Broken those resolutions yet? That flashy new gym pass already collecting dust? My personal approach to New Year’s resolutions is not to make any, so they can’t be broken. If there is no expectation there can be no disappointment. You know? Work smarter not harder, as they say.

When you buy as much cracking wine as we do, it’s only natural that some of it slips through the cracks. Every time I wander round the warehouse (not wander, I mean, uh, walk with purpose, being productive and having important thoughts) I’ll spy something I forgot we had buried in the shelves, something I meant to spotlight in an email but that got lost in the sauce. So today I’m resolving to give all these little gems the love they deserve. Damn, was that a resolution? Fallen at the first hurdle.

First up, a little bit o’ Jura, for those of you who are partial. Fumey-Chatelain are a producer who combine two of my favourite things: cracking wine at a cracking price. Which is something that’s getting harder and harder to find in that little corner of the wine world. They make basically any kind of wine you’d want to find from the Jura, from a truly sizzling entry level Chardy (a great one to get around if you keep reading the word ‘Jura’ and are like what the actual f are they going on about with that, coz it won’t break the bank and serves as a great entry point to the style), to a highly concentrated and mineral Melon a Queue Rouge (labelled as Chardy, presumably coz that’s sexier? Idk) to a ripe-fruited acid bomb that came off their best vintage ever. U like oxy wine? Fumey-Chatelain’s got u. Like Pinot? Fumey-Chatelain’s got u. Like Trousseau? Say it with me…

Staying on the Chardonnay train (the only train I really wanna b on), check out Les Grangeons de L’Albarine, just a hop and a skip over the border to the Savoie, Jura’s less sexy cousin (for now, at least). These are alpine freshies, rippling with acidity, tension and drive. And guess what? They’re all under £35. Well, except the Mondouze, but I didn’t check the pricing of that before I wrote that sentence, and I’m not turning back now. £35, £36, who’s counting? If you like your whites via Burgundy (oh, you classicist) then have a look at Paul Pillot’s entry levellers. Stupid good Aligote (which is a money-saving hack if you like Chardy, btw. Somebody get Buzzfeed on the phone, I’ve got an article for them) and a toasty, nutty Chardonnay that’ll rival many a cru-level wine when the winemaking is this good.

Over on Mount Etna, we just landed a wine I’ve been dreaming about for the last year. Remember that time I went to Sicily and wouldn’t shut up about it? I know Fionn does (sorry Fionn). We tasted a wine from tank up at Vino di Anna in October ‘23 and I’ve been counting down the days until it landed. Guess what! It’s landed! An eclectic blend of Carricante, Chenin Blanc, Riesling and Savagnin (cuttings from Eric’s old mate Ganevat, who you might have heard of), direct pressed into old chestnut and left hanging out on the lees for 18 months. It is delicious, if memory serves, which it does. Ever-intriguing, ever-smashable - one for those who get bored easily. Oh, and while we’re up here, stop sleeping on Eduardo Torres Acosta - slamming Etna bottlings at a price that you rarely see on these slopes any more. Get onto it before he cottons on and sticks another tenner on it.

Back to France for a sec (look, I never said this email would be organised. Have you seen the warehouse? Yeah.), if you like your vinos more on the esoteric side, have a look at Clos des Grillons. Master of turning grapes that are too often an afterthought (or not a thought at all… Picardan, anyone?) into heady, delicious, dreamy blends that are utterly unique. So complex, so vibey, so yum

That’s all from me, except to remind y’all to get moving if you wanna come meet Vincent Gross in March. Two tickets left at time of writing, and they won’t be there for long. Yes, March is a long time away, but isn’t it nice to have stuff in the calendar that isn’t ‘pay rent’?

Love u!

xoxo

Megan